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Newbie

Hi everyone,

I hope you don't mind but I'm after a bit of advice, I haven't been diagnosed with Lupus, but am beginning to think that's what I may have - unless it's all in my head!

Bascially I was diagnosed with another autoimmune disease about 3 years ago - Ankylosing Spondylitis (a type of arthritis); for several years I have had some hairloss but its accelerated over the last year. I was researching hairloss and eventually ended up with Lupus, and I seem to have or had in the past some of the principle symptoms - I've had pleurisy on and off since I was 15, I've had anaemia for years, joint pains and hairloss.

The thing is that I know how hard its to get a diagnosis, I don't really want to go through all that again. Can anyone tell me whether they've had a misdiagnosis? And does this sound like Lupus or am I making something of nothing?

Hi, Jena

Ankylosing Spondylitis causes some pretty specific types of bone damage that would show up on x-ray or MRI, so I don't think a competent specialist would misdiagnose it.

But it's certainly possible to have more than one autoimmune disease - that screwed-up immune system seems to make us more vulnerable to a second autoimmune problem. Many lupus patients also have sjogrens or reynauds too.If you are concerned, i would definitely talk to your doctor.

Are you currently taking any medicines for your AS or other medical problems? Hair loss can be a side effect of many prescription medicines.